


Good Enough

by SeaSpectre160



Series: Whumptober 2019 [16]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Hallucinations, Mick Rory Needs a Hug, Missing Scene, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeaSpectre160/pseuds/SeaSpectre160
Summary: WHUMPTOBER 2019 PROMPT #22: HALLUCINATIONThe folks from Star City may have been used to the sight of dead people walking around, but Mick sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see the dead man talking to him in the middle of theWaverider’s Med Bay.
Relationships: Mick Rory & Dick Rory
Series: Whumptober 2019 [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1502108
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Good Enough

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the second one to be part of both my ‘Whumptober 2019’ collection and my ‘Long Way Home’ AU. For the latter, all you need to know – assuming you haven’t read any of it – is that Leonard survives the Oculus and is still part of the Legends during the events of Season 2. This means that Mick hallucination of Leonard’s ghost in ‘The Chicago Way’ doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, so I’ve changed it.
> 
> This scene is referenced in Chapter 10 of ‘The Cold Factor’, a chapter that I posted back in 2017. And now here it is for you to actually see. However, it’s only Mick’s first encounter with the hallucination in the Med Bay. Maybe I’ll write the other part later, and make it a flashback in something else, but for now, what you see is what you get (although I’d say that I’ve slightly extended the scene that was originally less than a minute long).
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don’t own ‘Legends of Tomorrow’ or any of its characters.

_Tuesday, October 18 th, 1927_

“Pathetic.”

The man sitting in the med bay with his feet up choked on his beer at the sound of the unexpected voice that echoed throughout the room. It wasn’t Amaya’s voice, even though she had _just_ walked out a second earlier.

He cast his eyes around the room and quickly found the source of the voice, leaning against the doorway with a cruel scowl on his face and a lit cigarette between two fingers.

No.

It was impossible.

He was _dead_.

But he was _here_.

“Dad,” he breathed, staring at the man in front of him. Then he shook his head. “I must be losing my mind.” The folks from Star City may have been used to the sight of dead people walking around, but Mick sure as hell wasn’t expecting to see the dead man talking to him in the middle of the _Waverider_ ’s Med Bay. Or maybe this was all just some horrible dream, after he’d fallen asleep drinking. He thumped his own head with his fists, hoping to… wake himself up? Pound the voice away? He didn’t know _what_ he was hoping for.

“Obviously.” It didn’t work. The ghost of Dick Rory was still there, taking a drag from his cigarette before continuing. “Why else would you still be on this tub, puttin’ your neck on the line for some stupid do-gooders? You always were a dumb little shit.”

This couldn’t be happening. Dad was dead. The cops confirmed it, and the firefighters, and Jax and Sara that time they all travelled back to that night.

Maybe it was a past version of Dad? One from this- No, it couldn’t be. They were in October 1927, and Dad was born in April of 1926; that version of him would be a baby, not the chain-smoking, violent bastard Mick had grown up knowing.

“You’re goin’ soft, Mickey boy,” ‘Dad’ taunted, “You think you can fit in here? Be one of _them_? Nah.”

Mick got to his feet. “Shut up.”

‘Dad’ ignored him. “Doesn’t matter what you do, Boy. You’ll always be the same screw-up kid who left his own mother to die. You ain’t ever gonna be one of those _heroes_ , and they know it. That girl knows it. Won’t be long before you screw somethin’ up, and they have no choice but to dump you back into a life of knockin’ over liquor stores and lookin’ over your shoulder for the cops.” He finally stood up straight and sauntered down the hall and out of sight. “Face it, Mickey: You ain’t ever gonna be good enough.”

“Wait!” Mick got up, running to the Med Bay door, only to see a completely empty hallway. _‘He’s wrong,’_ he thought, _‘He’s gotta be wrong.’_

But something about those cruel words felt like the truth.

_‘Now I **really** need a fucking drink.’_

And he emptied the rest of his beer into his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Dick’s date of birth, which I have placed at April 1st, 1926, is simply the actor Evan Jones’s birthdate minus fifty years (as he played the role in an episode set almost exactly fifty years in the past). And for the ‘Long Way Home’ AU, Mick was born on August 17th, 1971. Originally it was February 17th, 1970, just like Dominic Purcell’s, but since ‘Slay Anything’ showed that his ex Ali’s graduating class was 1989 (and Mick was still in Juvie when prom took place, and was therefore still under 18), I had to change it. I chose August instead of June or July because August 17th corresponds to the Leo sign of the Zodiac, which is a fire sign, so that seemed more appropriate for Mick.
> 
> And, while we’re on the topic of ‘Slay Anything’, it is my personal belief that Mick ditched Ali at prom to hang with Leonard, because the prom was stated to take place on June 2nd, 1989 – Leonard’s 17th birthday, as established in canon (and real life for Wentworth Miller). And there’s a good chance that Len helped him break out, so if a friend puts in that much effort to help you on his birthday, you kinda can’t just ditch him.
> 
> The next Whumptober story (Prompt #23: Bleeding Out) is also in the ‘Long Way Home’ continuity, and it is called ‘The Two Hundred and Fifth Time’. The title should be able to give you an idea of which character(s) it’s about.


End file.
